Colors of Bintan (Updated)

This week, it is school holidays and I promised my boy another adventure. He likes the trees, the beach and the sea. Felicia and I decided to bring him to back to his favorite island – Bintan. We were thinking of Tioman Island but the 2-hour coach ride doesn’t sound appealing to us. Moreover, I have never been to Bintan. I have heard so many “erotic escapades” and “romantic tales” of this island. During my dating days, Bintan was a very popular getaway for young unmarried couples. Some of my friends have stayed at the famous Banyan Tree Resorts where lovers literally go Full Monty in their own 100% private villa-pools, watching the sunset. Sounds like “Temptation Island”.

For this particular trip, we won’t be heading to Banyan Tree Resorts. Specially for Elkan, we are going to have some exciting island life! My son wants to attempt new stuffs – sleeping over in a “kampong hut”, snorkeling, kayaking, surf-boarding, motor-scooter and air-rifle. He successfully attempted all of the activities but he freaked out most of it. We had so much fun watching him attempting those activities. Elkan was both curious and timid. Like a little kitten, he bounced in and out of action. He was one of the first few who jumped into the deep ocean and the first one who wanted out. He was the first who climbed into the kayak and the first one who fell off. He was the first one who suggested air-rifle and didn’t dare to come close to the thundering firing range. It took Elkan a while to feel safe before he tried these new activities. He enjoys risks and he wants to feel absolutely safe too. He is the perfect combination of “Kiasuism” (怕输) and “Kiasism” (怕死).

Time flies really fast on the island. There are so many things to do here – at different time, at different places. We spent 4 great days in Bintan (except for some disruptive work moments). Here are our favorite top “4 Colorful Moments”:

1) BLUE – THE POOL, THE SEA & THE FISHES
Here, Elkan achieved 3 of his “firsts” – Kayaking, Snorkeling and Backstroke Swimming! Took him a lot of guts and efforts to master them.

2) GREEN – THE TREES, THE ROCKS, THE ANIMALS, THE E-SCOOTER
We roamed the island on an e-Scooter, avoided a giant bee hive in the forest hike, conquered boulder rocks at the coast and fed deers at a mini zoo.

3) BROWN – LITTLE HUTS, SHOPPING, MASSAGE, DINNERS
Just 10-drive away – food, souvenirs and massage services are 30%-50% cheaper than the ones offered in the resort. We can’t afford the expensive (and lousy) food in the resort. We came out to this small town market huts for dinner and really nice Indonesian oil massage (SGD45 for 90 minutes).

4) ORANGE – SUNSET, KELONG
Beautiful sunset and a cool breezy place to dine, here you find a floating bar and restaurant (Kelong Style) on the sea. Stunning!